By Adedapo Adesanya

Standard Chartered has launched its ninth sub-fund under its Variable Capital Company (VCC) platform, partnering with Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) as the sub-manager to provide eligible clients with access to a gold-focused investment strategy.

The new Signature Select Enhanced Gold Income Fund combines exposure to gold with an enhanced income-generation strategy. The fund invests in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and uses a covered call strategy to seek regular income while allowing investors to participate in the potential long-term appreciation of gold.

Standard Chartered said gold could help diversify investment portfolios because of its relatively low correlation with traditional asset classes and its potential to provide resilience during periods of geopolitical, monetary and market uncertainty.

The fund is available from this month to Accredited and Professional Investors across the Bank’s Priority, Priority Private and Private Banking segments in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Jersey, Kenya and Nigeria. Taiwan is expected to be added later in 2026.

AllianzGI, which has more than 700 investment professionals globally as of March 31, 2026, will provide investment management expertise for the fund.

Its Global Multi Asset Team will be responsible for options selection and the day-to-day management of the portfolio, drawing on its experience in portfolio construction, derivatives implementation, risk management and multi-asset investing across different market cycles.

Mr Sumeet Bhambri, Global Head, Advisory and Managed Investments, Wealth Solutions, Standard Chartered, said the partnership with AllianzGI would strengthen the bank’s latest VCC fund and provide clients with a differentiated investment strategy.

“As clients seek greater diversification amid an increasingly uncertain market environment, the fund provides access to a differentiated strategy that combines gold’s portfolio diversification benefits with enhanced income potential,” Mr Bhambri said.

He added that the launch reflected Standard Chartered’s commitment to expanding its wealth platform through strategic partnerships and delivering innovative investment solutions to clients.

On his part, Mr Marc Gualandi, Head of Global Banks at Allianz Global Investors, said the fund was designed to give investors exposure to gold’s long-term value proposition while generating income through an active options strategy.

“We believe gold can play an important role as a long-term allocation within a well-diversified portfolio,” Mr Gualandi said.

He said AllianzGI would leverage its expertise in income strategies, portfolio construction and risk management to help investors pursue income and long-term portfolio resilience.

Standard Chartered established its VCC platform in June 2024 to combine the expertise of leading fund managers with its global asset-class specialists and provide clients with access to customised investment strategies.

The latest launch brings the total number of sub-funds on the platform to nine and marks Standard Chartered’s fourth fund launch in 2026.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Sewa Capital Investment, an investment banking and financial advisory firm focused on supporting high-growth businesses across Africa, has made a strategic investment in Mathesis Analytics, a Nigerian financial technology company providing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered credit decisioning infrastructure.

The investment is expected to support Mathesis Analytics’ expansion drive for its AI-powered credit infrastructure in Nigeria.

Currently, Nigerian lenders face a critical structural gap: the fragmentation of verifiable consumer data makes it difficult to accurately price risk at scale. Mathesis directly addresses this bottleneck by aggregating disparate transactional and behavioural data into a real-time measure of creditworthiness.

The investment will support product development, institutional integrations, expansion of Mathesis’ lender network, and the strengthening of its data and technology infrastructure, a statement from the fintech firm stated.

By embedding this infrastructure, financial institutions can expand underwriting capacity, support more accurate risk-based lending decisions, and reach new market segments without compromising established risk thresholds.

For Mathesis Analytics, this investment represents an important milestone in its strategy to build Africa’s next-generation credit infrastructure to drive true financial inclusion.

Mathesis has already supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, providing a substantial operating base from which to deepen institutional adoption and expand into additional markets.

The company will leverage Sewa Capital’s backing to accelerate the expansion of its institutional footprint.

“At Sewa Capital, we are interested in businesses building the infrastructure that enables African economies to allocate capital more efficiently and inclusively.

“Mathesis Analytics is addressing a fundamental constraint in credit markets: the information gap that limits lenders’ ability to assess risk confidently.

“Its technology has the potential to expand responsible access to credit in Nigeria and, over time, across Africa. We are pleased to support the team through its next phase of growth,” the Managing Director of Sewa Capital, Ms Angela Jide-Jones, commented.

The chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Mr Winston Osuchukwu, in his reaction, said, “Credit inclusion begins with information visibility.

“Partnering with Sewa Capital accelerates the rollout of our infrastructure; equipping a wider network of lenders with the capabilities required to accurately evaluate risk and ultimately deliver credit services to previously excluded populations across the continent.”

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Eligible innovators, financial institutions, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial technology (fintech) companies, and technology firms have been invited to apply for the second cohort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Regulatory Sandbox Programme.

A statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the apex bank, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed that entries opened on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and will close on Monday, August 31, 2026.

Cohort 2 of the initiative introduces two dedicated testing tracks to support emerging technologies with the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system while upholding high standards of consumer protection, financial stability, and market integrity.

According to the central bank, the two tracks are VASP and Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP).

VASP track is to support innovative virtual asset, stablecoin, payment, settlement, custody, wallet, and related financial infrastructure solutions that require supervised live testing, while the non-VASP track supports innovations that leverage secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and consumer outcomes.

The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the CBN.

The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.

Eligible organisations whose proposed innovations fall within the programme’s scope are encouraged to apply.

Applications will be assessed based on the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential consumer or market benefit, governance arrangements, risk management capability, and the suitability of the proposed testing plan.

Successful participants will undertake supervised testing within clearly defined parameters agreed with the CBN, including appropriate safeguards for consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting.

The central bank emphasised that participation in the scheme does not constitute a licence, authorisation, or approval to operate outside the approved testing parameters.

It noted that the Sandbox is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen regulatory engagement, and support evidence-based policy development in line with the CBN’s statutory mandate.